View auction Terms

Asking Price (a.k.a. Bid Price)

When a bidder places a bid, the auctioneer asks the other bidders if any of them will pay a specific amount above the current bid – the ask price. Bid Increment: The amount by which the auctioneer increases the bidding. In general, the auctioneer will request bids of about 10% higher than the previous bid. For instance, if the bidding opens at $5,000, subsequent bids of $5,500, $6,000, $6,500, etc. would follow. The auctioneer can vary at his/her discretion.

Bidder Number

Every registered bidder receives a unique bidder number when they register for a given auction. If you are the highest bidder - the lot number, the final bid price and your bidder number goes into the auctioneer’s book and a back-up set of records known as clerking sheets to verify your purchase. View the short video directly below on live bidding to view where your bidder number is located during an online sale.

Bought-In (a.k.a. Passed)

If there are no bids on a lot, or if bidding does not reach the lowest possible selling price, the lot in "bought in", meaning it is unsold and remains the property of the owner.

Buyer

The person who placed the highest bid on an item becomes the buyer, or new owner of that item when his/her bid is accepted by the auctioneer.

Buyer’s Premium

The percentage above the hammer price paid by the buyer to the auction house that is part of the total purchase price.

Clerk

A person employed by an auction house to record for each lot sold, the lot number, the final bid price and the bidding number of the high bidder.

Competing Bids

Before and during a sale, an auction house accepts competing bids for a lot from absentee bidders, phone bidders, online and in room bidders if all of these bidding methods are available.

Condition Report

A written description of the imperfections of an object (or lack thereof), particularly of characteristics that might affect value. This is essential information for prospective bidders.

Consignor(a.k.a. Seller)

The owner who is authorizing the auction house to act as agent on his or her behalf for sale.

Consignor Agreement

The contract between the auction house and consignor.

Fair Warning

When an auctioneer announces "fair warning", he/she is saying, "Bid now or I am closing the lot. This is your last chance." If there are no bids forthcoming, the auctioneer’s hammer falls and the sale is complete for that lot.

Final Selling Price

Hammer Price/High Bid + Buyer’s Premium

Hammer Price

The highest bid accepted/the winning bid for a lot at auction/the price at which the auctioneer’s “hammer” falls. Note that this does not include the buyer’s premium.

Live Auction

A live auction is hosted by an auctioneer in real time, typically at the gallery or salesroom of the auctioneer, and is held before an audience of bidders. Bidsquare is a service that allows a bidder to remotely participate in a live gallery auction via the internet. Other bidders might participate -- in person, by phone or through an absentee bid sent in prior to the auction. Bidsquare participants place their bids via a computer, bidding in response to bids placed by others. Your bids are automatically received by a remote clerk, who places your bid in real time. Bidding will continue (usually at defined increments) until competition for the lot ends. If the highest bid offered meets the minimum price designated by the seller as acceptable, the lot is sold. The auctioneer will then move on to the next lot. View the short video below to see how a live auction runs on Bidsquare.

Lot

An individual object or group of objects offered for sale at auction as a unit.

Lot Number

Every lot in an auction is given a unique lot number. The lots are sold in numerical order.

Online Bidding

The option of bidding on Bidsquare in advance of an auction or in real time during an auction through a computer or mobile device.

Preview (a.k.a. Exhibition)

Every lot goes on public display in the days before an auction, whether at the auction house or online or both. Specialists are available to answer all questions. Auction house previews are typically free and open to the public.

Reserve Price

The reserve price is the lowest price which a seller is willing to accept for his or her property. At many auction houses, reserves must be set at or below the low estimate, and if bidding ends before the reserve is reached, the property will not be sold. An auction house may disclose the reserve; mark items which have reserves or keep the reserve confidential for the seller. Most auction houses keep the reserve confidential for the seller.

Results

Soon after every auction, the selling prices, known as the results, are posted online. Customarily, the results include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, as this is the full amount the buyer has agreed to pay.

Seller’s Commission

The commission paid by an owner to the auction house for acting as the owner’s agent in the sale of his property. The auction house deducts the seller’s commission (and any agreed upon expenses) from the hammer price and send the rest to the owner.

Starting Price

The starting price is the lowest price at which a lot can sell (unless a reserve price is specified).

Timed Online Only Auction

A timed online only auction is automated and takes place solely online. The bidding for each lot is opened at a predetermined level set by the auctioneer, usually at a set time and stays open over an extended period of hours or days. During this period of open bidding one will be able to see the current high bid on each lot. You may place a higher bid at a defined bidding increment you choose. View the short video below for a further explanation of timed online only auctions.

Terms of Sale

The contract between the bidder and the auction house that specifies the legal terms governing bidding and purchase.